Tag: USA

Whitney Houston | Joy to the World

As always, we kick off the holiday season with Whitney Houston‘s inimitable cover of “Joy To The World,” originally recorded for the 1996 film The Preacher’s Wife. This arrangement hits the mark in every way — there are key changes at 0:43, 1:48, 2:22, 3:00 and 3:12, as well as a false ending at 3:37.

Big Brother + The Holding Company (feat. Janis Joplin) | Combination of the Two

“Cheap Thrills (1968) was the breakthrough album for Janis Joplin and Big Brother & The Holding Company,” (Daily Vault). “Topping the charts for eight weeks and spawning a top 20 single, this was the album that solidified the reputation that the band had spawned with their set at the Monterey Pop festival. It also marked the end of the band; not terribly long after the album’s release, Joplin left the band to pursue a solo career.

… Musically, (Big Brother co-founder, songwriter, and guitarist) Sam Andrew and crew had worked themselves into a tight musical unit by the time these tracks (some of which were recorded live at the Fillmore Auditorium) were cut. But on the other end of the spectrum, you can hear the strain on Joplin’s vocals … She had vocal power beyond many female blues singers; pity that she overused that power. ‘Piece of My Heart,’ the hit single from Cheap Thrills, remains a classic song that has lost little of its power over the course of three decades. Likewise, ‘Combination of the Two’ is an underrated classic that allows Joplin the fiery freedom to cut loose with her vocal abilities.”

After starting with an instrumental intro in A minor, “Combination of the Two” shifts up to B major for its first verse at 0:54. At 1:16, another verse falls into place, this time in G# major. 1:29 brings a whoa-only vocals section in E major which leads into a short chorus. At 2:00, we’ve returned to the B major verse; the sections repeat from there.

Mama Cass | Different (from “PufNStuff”)

“Cass Elliot didn’t just sing on a kids’ show,” (Kendall LeJeune). “She turned a children’s puppet fantasy into pure camp gospel. The way she sings ‘Different’ as a spell, equal parts lullaby and incantation. That’s presence. That’s control … she transforms a TV cameo into a cultural artifact. Witch hat, velvet cape, full vocal power. She knew the audience would remember. And we do.”

“‘Different’ is the sixth song in the soundtrack of the movie Pufnstuf (1970) and is the first of two songs which are sung the antagonists of the movie,” (Fandom.com). “During the Witch’s Council, after the Boss Witch’s assistant starts the record player, Witch Hazel sings about how she discovered from a very young age that she was different from other people and how she used her difference to her advantage before meeting the other witches. During the course of the song, Hazel is joined by the other witches in refrains of certain words in the verses and for three quarters of the song’s chorus. After the song is finished, while the other witches applaud Hazel, Witchiepoo acts unamused, since Hazel is also up for Witch of the Year.”

The track begins in F major, shifting to G major for a second verse at 0:23. The chorus, starting at 0:38, leads up to a melodically surprising ending. 0:58 brings a G major interlude which connects us to another verse which reverts back to F major (1:01). The pattern continues from there.

Below is a video with high audio quality, but also check out the second posted video of the actual footage from Pufnstuf. For a synopsis and review of the film, check out the 366 Weird Movies site — it was too dense with detailed descriptions to choose an excerpt!

Many thanks to Maureen BZ for calling our attention to this one-of-a-kind track.

And no, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: this footage does include a Nazi rat character who happens to hang out with witches: